Air purifiers: hepa filters

paws · Aug 8, 2007

I too am trying to decide which hepa air cleaner/purifier to purchase.

LightNlife, with the Bionaire Hepa tower, I noticed it claims to filter out 99% of air contaminants compared to many other Hepa filters which claim to clean 99.97 or so. Can you give us more information on the differences? I don't mind spending more if the bigger cleaners are better (austin, etc.), but don't know if it's worth it or not. Also, I am confused that blueair (also pricey) is recommended by so many allergy sites and also some literature my allergist gave me, but it's an ionizer type (not like the sharper image ionizer, but still not hepa), if I understand clearly.

It all gets pretty confusing for me.

paws · Aug 8, 2007

I too am trying to decide which hepa air cleaner/purifier to purchase.

LightNlife, with the Bionaire Hepa tower, I noticed it claims to filter out 99% of air contaminants compared to many other Hepa filters which claim to clean 99.97 or so. Can you give us more information on the differences? I don't mind spending more if the bigger cleaners are better (austin, etc.), but don't know if it's worth it or not. Also, I am confused that blueair (also pricey) is recommended by so many allergy sites and also some literature my allergist gave me, but it's an ionizer type (not like the sharper image ionizer, but still not hepa), if I understand clearly.

It all gets pretty confusing for me.

paws · Aug 8, 2007

I too am trying to decide which hepa air cleaner/purifier to purchase.

LightNlife, with the Bionaire Hepa tower, I noticed it claims to filter out 99% of air contaminants compared to many other Hepa filters which claim to clean 99.97 or so. Can you give us more information on the differences? I don't mind spending more if the bigger cleaners are better (austin, etc.), but don't know if it's worth it or not. Also, I am confused that blueair (also pricey) is recommended by so many allergy sites and also some literature my allergist gave me, but it's an ionizer type (not like the sharper image ionizer, but still not hepa), if I understand clearly.

It all gets pretty confusing for me.

paws · Aug 8, 2007

I too am trying to decide which hepa air cleaner/purifier to purchase.

LightNlife, with the Bionaire Hepa tower, I noticed it claims to filter out 99% of air contaminants compared to many other Hepa filters which claim to clean 99.97 or so. Can you give us more information on the differences? I don't mind spending more if the bigger cleaners are better (austin, etc.), but don't know if it's worth it or not. Also, I am confused that blueair (also pricey) is recommended by so many allergy sites and also some literature my allergist gave me, but it's an ionizer type (not like the sharper image ionizer, but still not hepa), if I understand clearly.

It all gets pretty confusing for me.

paws · Aug 8, 2007

I too am trying to decide which hepa air cleaner/purifier to purchase.

LightNlife, with the Bionaire Hepa tower, I noticed it claims to filter out 99% of air contaminants compared to many other Hepa filters which claim to clean 99.97 or so. Can you give us more information on the differences? I don't mind spending more if the bigger cleaners are better (austin, etc.), but don't know if it's worth it or not. Also, I am confused that blueair (also pricey) is recommended by so many allergy sites and also some literature my allergist gave me, but it's an ionizer type (not like the sharper image ionizer, but still not hepa), if I understand clearly.

It all gets pretty confusing for me.

lightNlife · Aug 8, 2007

There is a difference between an air purifier and an air filter.

Air filters: these trap airborne contaminants such as dust, mold spores, pollen, etc. in a physical way. Think of it like the lint trap in your dryer. When the contaminants are pulled out of the air, they are trapped by the filter.

Air purifiers: these are the type that use an ionization process. What ionizing does is act on the part of the airborne contaminant that causes an unpleasant oder. It works sort of like a magnet. Two metal plates inside the unit will act as a force field upon any particles that get between them. When it "ionizes" these particles, the molecules can actually be pulled apart because of the charge. No longer in their original form, they don't smell. Ionizing units are great for removing musty smells, cigarette smoke, cooking odors, and basically anything else that is airborne and stinky.

When evaluating filters based on which percentage of stuff they remove, you'll see numbers like 99.9% or higher. The obvious answer would be to simply choose the unit with the higher percentage, right? Honestly, you're not going to notice much of a difference between 99 and 99.97 because it's really just a marketing tactic. I'm a little rusty on the specifics, but from what I recall here's how they arrive at those numbers:

Say you've got 1000 particles floating around, and they get sucked into a HEPA filter. The first pass through the filter will remove 99% of those particles. That leaves only 10 particles. Filter again and you remove 99% of those...leaving you with (theoretically) less than 1 particle. See how that works?

Basically, if you're using a HEPA filter in a small, indoor room and one that isn't heavily exposed to airborne pollution, 99% filtration is fine. Unless you're a smoker or leave your windows open 8 hours of the day, you can get by with 99%.

As long as you're using a HEPA filter, you'll be fine. Keep it in the room where you spend most of your time--for many people that's their bedroom.

lightNlife · Aug 8, 2007

There is a difference between an air purifier and an air filter.

Air filters: these trap airborne contaminants such as dust, mold spores, pollen, etc. in a physical way. Think of it like the lint trap in your dryer. When the contaminants are pulled out of the air, they are trapped by the filter.

Air purifiers: these are the type that use an ionization process. What ionizing does is act on the part of the airborne contaminant that causes an unpleasant oder. It works sort of like a magnet. Two metal plates inside the unit will act as a force field upon any particles that get between them. When it "ionizes" these particles, the molecules can actually be pulled apart because of the charge. No longer in their original form, they don't smell. Ionizing units are great for removing musty smells, cigarette smoke, cooking odors, and basically anything else that is airborne and stinky.

When evaluating filters based on which percentage of stuff they remove, you'll see numbers like 99.9% or higher. The obvious answer would be to simply choose the unit with the higher percentage, right? Honestly, you're not going to notice much of a difference between 99 and 99.97 because it's really just a marketing tactic. I'm a little rusty on the specifics, but from what I recall here's how they arrive at those numbers:

Say you've got 1000 particles floating around, and they get sucked into a HEPA filter. The first pass through the filter will remove 99% of those particles. That leaves only 10 particles. Filter again and you remove 99% of those...leaving you with (theoretically) less than 1 particle. See how that works?

Basically, if you're using a HEPA filter in a small, indoor room and one that isn't heavily exposed to airborne pollution, 99% filtration is fine. Unless you're a smoker or leave your windows open 8 hours of the day, you can get by with 99%.

As long as you're using a HEPA filter, you'll be fine. Keep it in the room where you spend most of your time--for many people that's their bedroom.

lightNlife · Aug 8, 2007

There is a difference between an air purifier and an air filter.

Air filters: these trap airborne contaminants such as dust, mold spores, pollen, etc. in a physical way. Think of it like the lint trap in your dryer. When the contaminants are pulled out of the air, they are trapped by the filter.

Air purifiers: these are the type that use an ionization process. What ionizing does is act on the part of the airborne contaminant that causes an unpleasant oder. It works sort of like a magnet. Two metal plates inside the unit will act as a force field upon any particles that get between them. When it "ionizes" these particles, the molecules can actually be pulled apart because of the charge. No longer in their original form, they don't smell. Ionizing units are great for removing musty smells, cigarette smoke, cooking odors, and basically anything else that is airborne and stinky.

When evaluating filters based on which percentage of stuff they remove, you'll see numbers like 99.9% or higher. The obvious answer would be to simply choose the unit with the higher percentage, right? Honestly, you're not going to notice much of a difference between 99 and 99.97 because it's really just a marketing tactic. I'm a little rusty on the specifics, but from what I recall here's how they arrive at those numbers:

Say you've got 1000 particles floating around, and they get sucked into a HEPA filter. The first pass through the filter will remove 99% of those particles. That leaves only 10 particles. Filter again and you remove 99% of those...leaving you with (theoretically) less than 1 particle. See how that works?

Basically, if you're using a HEPA filter in a small, indoor room and one that isn't heavily exposed to airborne pollution, 99% filtration is fine. Unless you're a smoker or leave your windows open 8 hours of the day, you can get by with 99%.

As long as you're using a HEPA filter, you'll be fine. Keep it in the room where you spend most of your time--for many people that's their bedroom.

lightNlife · Aug 8, 2007

There is a difference between an air purifier and an air filter.

Air filters: these trap airborne contaminants such as dust, mold spores, pollen, etc. in a physical way. Think of it like the lint trap in your dryer. When the contaminants are pulled out of the air, they are trapped by the filter.

Air purifiers: these are the type that use an ionization process. What ionizing does is act on the part of the airborne contaminant that causes an unpleasant oder. It works sort of like a magnet. Two metal plates inside the unit will act as a force field upon any particles that get between them. When it "ionizes" these particles, the molecules can actually be pulled apart because of the charge. No longer in their original form, they don't smell. Ionizing units are great for removing musty smells, cigarette smoke, cooking odors, and basically anything else that is airborne and stinky.

When evaluating filters based on which percentage of stuff they remove, you'll see numbers like 99.9% or higher. The obvious answer would be to simply choose the unit with the higher percentage, right? Honestly, you're not going to notice much of a difference between 99 and 99.97 because it's really just a marketing tactic. I'm a little rusty on the specifics, but from what I recall here's how they arrive at those numbers:

Say you've got 1000 particles floating around, and they get sucked into a HEPA filter. The first pass through the filter will remove 99% of those particles. That leaves only 10 particles. Filter again and you remove 99% of those...leaving you with (theoretically) less than 1 particle. See how that works?

Basically, if you're using a HEPA filter in a small, indoor room and one that isn't heavily exposed to airborne pollution, 99% filtration is fine. Unless you're a smoker or leave your windows open 8 hours of the day, you can get by with 99%.

As long as you're using a HEPA filter, you'll be fine. Keep it in the room where you spend most of your time--for many people that's their bedroom.

lightNlife · Aug 8, 2007

There is a difference between an air purifier and an air filter.

Air filters: these trap airborne contaminants such as dust, mold spores, pollen, etc. in a physical way. Think of it like the lint trap in your dryer. When the contaminants are pulled out of the air, they are trapped by the filter.

Air purifiers: these are the type that use an ionization process. What ionizing does is act on the part of the airborne contaminant that causes an unpleasant oder. It works sort of like a magnet. Two metal plates inside the unit will act as a force field upon any particles that get between them. When it "ionizes" these particles, the molecules can actually be pulled apart because of the charge. No longer in their original form, they don't smell. Ionizing units are great for removing musty smells, cigarette smoke, cooking odors, and basically anything else that is airborne and stinky.

When evaluating filters based on which percentage of stuff they remove, you'll see numbers like 99.9% or higher. The obvious answer would be to simply choose the unit with the higher percentage, right? Honestly, you're not going to notice much of a difference between 99 and 99.97 because it's really just a marketing tactic. I'm a little rusty on the specifics, but from what I recall here's how they arrive at those numbers:

Say you've got 1000 particles floating around, and they get sucked into a HEPA filter. The first pass through the filter will remove 99% of those particles. That leaves only 10 particles. Filter again and you remove 99% of those...leaving you with (theoretically) less than 1 particle. See how that works?

Basically, if you're using a HEPA filter in a small, indoor room and one that isn't heavily exposed to airborne pollution, 99% filtration is fine. Unless you're a smoker or leave your windows open 8 hours of the day, you can get by with 99%.

As long as you're using a HEPA filter, you'll be fine. Keep it in the room where you spend most of your time--for many people that's their bedroom.

JennifersHope · Aug 8, 2007

<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.kaz.com/kaz/store/product/a69666535caa7e9e50429b52546f2709/
">http://www.kaz.com/kaz/store/p...7e9e50429b52546f2709/
</a>

This is a link to the one I use. My father bought it for me when I was dx with CF. It was recommended to me by the head pulmonogist at Columbia in NYC.

I have had it for 5 years and it is amazing.. My allergies and lung infections have been cut in half by it.

Oddly enough, I have a sinus infection right now, and when I looked at my filter, it was way overdue to be changed... Yikes.

It has two different filters, one is the charcoal filter that goes on the outside of the hepa filter...

The only thing I will say about it is it is noisey, which for me is perfect because I need white noise to sleep.

JennifersHope · Aug 8, 2007

<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.kaz.com/kaz/store/product/a69666535caa7e9e50429b52546f2709/
">http://www.kaz.com/kaz/store/p...7e9e50429b52546f2709/
</a>

This is a link to the one I use. My father bought it for me when I was dx with CF. It was recommended to me by the head pulmonogist at Columbia in NYC.

I have had it for 5 years and it is amazing.. My allergies and lung infections have been cut in half by it.

Oddly enough, I have a sinus infection right now, and when I looked at my filter, it was way overdue to be changed... Yikes.

It has two different filters, one is the charcoal filter that goes on the outside of the hepa filter...

The only thing I will say about it is it is noisey, which for me is perfect because I need white noise to sleep.

JennifersHope · Aug 8, 2007

<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.kaz.com/kaz/store/product/a69666535caa7e9e50429b52546f2709/
">http://www.kaz.com/kaz/store/p...7e9e50429b52546f2709/
</a>

This is a link to the one I use. My father bought it for me when I was dx with CF. It was recommended to me by the head pulmonogist at Columbia in NYC.

I have had it for 5 years and it is amazing.. My allergies and lung infections have been cut in half by it.

Oddly enough, I have a sinus infection right now, and when I looked at my filter, it was way overdue to be changed... Yikes.

It has two different filters, one is the charcoal filter that goes on the outside of the hepa filter...

The only thing I will say about it is it is noisey, which for me is perfect because I need white noise to sleep.

JennifersHope · Aug 8, 2007

<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.kaz.com/kaz/store/product/a69666535caa7e9e50429b52546f2709/
">http://www.kaz.com/kaz/store/p...7e9e50429b52546f2709/
</a>

This is a link to the one I use. My father bought it for me when I was dx with CF. It was recommended to me by the head pulmonogist at Columbia in NYC.

I have had it for 5 years and it is amazing.. My allergies and lung infections have been cut in half by it.

Oddly enough, I have a sinus infection right now, and when I looked at my filter, it was way overdue to be changed... Yikes.

It has two different filters, one is the charcoal filter that goes on the outside of the hepa filter...

The only thing I will say about it is it is noisey, which for me is perfect because I need white noise to sleep.

JennifersHope · Aug 8, 2007

<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.kaz.com/kaz/store/product/a69666535caa7e9e50429b52546f2709/
">http://www.kaz.com/kaz/store/p...7e9e50429b52546f2709/
</a>

This is a link to the one I use. My father bought it for me when I was dx with CF. It was recommended to me by the head pulmonogist at Columbia in NYC.

I have had it for 5 years and it is amazing.. My allergies and lung infections have been cut in half by it.

Oddly enough, I have a sinus infection right now, and when I looked at my filter, it was way overdue to be changed... Yikes.

It has two different filters, one is the charcoal filter that goes on the outside of the hepa filter...

The only thing I will say about it is it is noisey, which for me is perfect because I need white noise to sleep.

lightNlife · Aug 8, 2007

In case anyone was wondering, the charcoal in Jennifer's air cleaner/filter is a wonderful and safe way to pull stinky odors out of the air as opposed to using an ionizing unit. The charcoal 'sucks' the stinky stuff and bacteria out of the air much like a box of baking soda would do in your fridge. I used to keep a charcoal brick (you can get them at any home improvement store) and kept it under the seat of my car. I was commuting a lot at the time and got sick of rolling the windows down every time I farted in the car! The charcoal brick saved my stinky derrière. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

lightNlife · Aug 8, 2007

In case anyone was wondering, the charcoal in Jennifer's air cleaner/filter is a wonderful and safe way to pull stinky odors out of the air as opposed to using an ionizing unit. The charcoal 'sucks' the stinky stuff and bacteria out of the air much like a box of baking soda would do in your fridge. I used to keep a charcoal brick (you can get them at any home improvement store) and kept it under the seat of my car. I was commuting a lot at the time and got sick of rolling the windows down every time I farted in the car! The charcoal brick saved my stinky derrière. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

lightNlife · Aug 8, 2007

In case anyone was wondering, the charcoal in Jennifer's air cleaner/filter is a wonderful and safe way to pull stinky odors out of the air as opposed to using an ionizing unit. The charcoal 'sucks' the stinky stuff and bacteria out of the air much like a box of baking soda would do in your fridge. I used to keep a charcoal brick (you can get them at any home improvement store) and kept it under the seat of my car. I was commuting a lot at the time and got sick of rolling the windows down every time I farted in the car! The charcoal brick saved my stinky derrière. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

lightNlife · Aug 8, 2007

In case anyone was wondering, the charcoal in Jennifer's air cleaner/filter is a wonderful and safe way to pull stinky odors out of the air as opposed to using an ionizing unit. The charcoal 'sucks' the stinky stuff and bacteria out of the air much like a box of baking soda would do in your fridge. I used to keep a charcoal brick (you can get them at any home improvement store) and kept it under the seat of my car. I was commuting a lot at the time and got sick of rolling the windows down every time I farted in the car! The charcoal brick saved my stinky derrière. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

lightNlife · Aug 8, 2007

In case anyone was wondering, the charcoal in Jennifer's air cleaner/filter is a wonderful and safe way to pull stinky odors out of the air as opposed to using an ionizing unit. The charcoal 'sucks' the stinky stuff and bacteria out of the air much like a box of baking soda would do in your fridge. I used to keep a charcoal brick (you can get them at any home improvement store) and kept it under the seat of my car. I was commuting a lot at the time and got sick of rolling the windows down every time I farted in the car! The charcoal brick saved my stinky derrière. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

Air purifiers: hepa filters

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